io8 



full authority. We were sending a pair of beauti- 

 fully matched leopards to the Emperor of Austria, 

 and they had reached Singapore in two large, 

 poorly constructed cages. Mr. Anderson was there, 

 and we disagreed on the advisability of recaging 

 them. I thought that the cages looked weak and I 

 wished to have my Chinese carpenter build two that 

 would be smaller and stronger. Mr. Anderson, 

 however, was impatient to start the leopards on 

 their voyage, and, since he was boss, we loaded the 

 cages on bullock-carts and headed for the docks. In 

 unloading one of the bullock-carts, the natives 

 allowed the case to slide to the ground too heavily ; 

 the cage broke, and out went Mr. Leopard like a 

 flash of lightning, heading straight for the Chinese 

 quarter. The Chinese saw him coming, and a panic 

 started. They tumbled over one another in getting 

 out of the way, and two of them were scratched. 

 The leopard was quite as frightened as any of the 

 Chinese. The natives in charge of the bullock-cart 

 came running for me, and I went to the Chinese 

 quarter to find the leopard. He had taken refuge 

 in a house, and I finally discovered him hiding 

 under the stairs, his eyes shining in the darkness. 

 Since it was impossible to get rid of the mob of 

 Chinese and recaging under the circumstances 

 would have been too dangerous, we had to shoot 

 the animal. We took the other leopard back to 

 Orchard Road and built a new cage. 



In 1902, just before the rainy season, I was rest- 



